Elastic body belt



Aug. 6, 1935.

J. W. STAFFORD ELASTIC BODY BELT Filed Dec. 2, 1932 Patented Aug. 6, 1935 i ELASTIC BODY BELT John W. Stafiord, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 2, 1932, Serial No. 645,452

7 "loclaims. Chan-8) i This invention relates to an improvement in Fig. 1 is a view of one end of the belt with elastic body belts, and particularly to an impart removed to show the resilient means and provement in belts in which the elastic quality buckle attached thereto; is supplied by a resilient device associated with Fig. 2 isa view of the spring supporting bar,

*6 the buckle. spring,;spring, abutment and buckle engaging A belt of this character I not only permits hook or clasp, detached from the belt; greater freedom of movement of the body of the Fig.- 3 is an edge view of a portion of the wearer, and consequently greater comfort, but spring supporting bar and .spring showing the due to the constant elastic pressure exerted on abutment stud carried by the bar; a

': the clothing of the wearer, the garments' are Fig.4 is a view of the buckle end-.of the belt 10 more firmly and securely held, in position and showing-the parts-opened in; position to receive prevented from working up or down, as so comthe spring and parts associated therewith;

monly results when non-stretchable belts: are Fig. 5'is a view of the buckle end of the belt worn. 1'

7 but with the buckle removed from the buckle One of the objects of the present invention engaging hook or clasp at the end of the spring 15 ,isathe provision in a belt of this character of supportingqbar;

means whereby the belt may be more readily ad- Fig. 6 is a view showing the buckle on the hated about the person of the-wearer yet will belt; and

be prevented from becomingreleased accidenr, Fig. '7 is a'similar View of a Sam Browne tally. V 5 belt and buckle. i 20 Another object of the invention is the provi- Referring now to the drawing in which like sion of means whereby the. device which provides reference characters indicate the same parts in the resilience of the belt may be readily atthe several views; 7

tached to, removed from or exchanged for other l0 indicates the belt which may be formed similarldevices without altering the beltproper. of leather, fabric or anysuitable material. One

. vOne of the features of the invention residesin end of the belt is returned or bent back upon the provision of a slidable spring supporting-bar itself to provide an'overlapping portion I l, which and means associated therewith, whereby it may is shown in Fig. 4. -Withinthe bight where the be readily 'joined to or separated from .theflbar parts l8 and II join is the spring abutment I2,

.of the buckle. provided with an opening through which extends 30 Another feature of the invention is the prothe spring supporting bar or draw-member l3. vision of the double portion of the belt between Positioned on the bar l3 and in sliding relation the separate layers of which. means are prothereto isa rectangular or flattened coil spring vided whereby the spring and spring supporting 14.: .The spring at one end abuts against the 5 bar may be removed readily from the belt withmember l 2,:the end. l5 of the wire being posiout change of the belt structure. -1 tion'ed on the returned flange. lSof the abutment Another feature of theinvention is the prol2. By the provision of this arrangement, the vision of the spring abutment through which the end 15 of the wire may be caused snugly to conspring supporting bar slidesandmeans'associtact the flange It so as not to engage and dig 0 .atedtherewith for retaining the adjacent end of into'thebelt member and yet not scrape on the 40 the spring out of the sliding contact with the spring supporting bar l3, thus avoiding the spring supporting bar. squeaking sound often times produced by the end Other features and advantages will appear of the-spring gratingon the spring bar.

from time to time as the description of .the in-' "At I1 is shown a buckle having the tongues vention progresses. I I8 carried on'the bar I9. The spring supporting 45 In the present disclosure'the invention has bar l3, beyond the juncture of the strap porbeen shown particularly. applied to a military tions I B and II, has a laterally extended por- Sam Browne belt. It is to be understood, howtion indicated at 20 which is formed to provide ever, that with slight modification the invention thereturned or hook portions 2| arrangedto remay be readily adapted for use with belts of:the ceive the bar I! of the buckle IT as shown in 50 ordinary commercial type. V i Fig, 1, 1 j

- It is believed the further disclos'ure'of the m- Spring supporting bar I3, adjacent its end vention will be understood most'r'eadilyvfrom a remote from the hooks 2|, is provided with a detailed description thereof taken in'connection key hole slot 22. A stud 23 is formed with a with the accompanying drawing, in which, 7 reduced portion 24 arranged to pass throughthe enlarged portion of slot 22. The reduced portion 24 is slightly grooved on the opposite sides thereof so that when it is moved to the reduced portion of slot 22 the edges of said slot enter the grooves in the opposite sides of portion 24 and the stud is thus held firmly in position. Stud 23 acts as an abutment for one end of the spring I! and the spring tends to retain the stud in the reduced portion of slot 22.

The portion In of the belt is provided with a slot 25 arranged to'receive the upwardly extende ing portion of stud 23 and permit its movement therein longitudinally of the belt when the spring I4 is compressed by tension on the belt.

The portion H of the belt may conveniently be secured to part In by fastening devices 26 which may be similar to the ordinary glove fastener. v

At 2! is shown a guard or shield, preferably of leather, which lies back of the belt buckle and is secured to part H3 by means'of stitching 28. A snap fastener 29 maybe provided to secure the free end of the part 2! to the part II."

The end of the belt remote from the resilient device will be provided with a series ofpairs of holes 39 arranged to receive the tongues l8 of the belt buckle. The belt is also provided with a series of button hole slots 3| adapted to receive the stud 23. a

It has been found desirable to form the abutment H? by folding a piece of sheet metal back on itself so as to provide slightly spaced parts between which the bar 13 may "slide. The portions 32 of the abutment IS, on the opposite sides thereof are preferably curved or rounded slightly outwardly so as to provide'free clearance and also a definite abutment for the" end |5 of the spring. 1

From" the 'above'descr'iption of the detailed construction of the belt and resilient device therefor, it will be obvious that when the belt is buckled upon a wearer and the body of the wearer expands due to some exertion 'or movement, that the bar I3 will be drawn to'the left as seen in the several views compressing the spring M, the end of-the belt sliding loosely thru the loop 33. When the stress which has expanded the belt is removed the spring "will actto'again return the beltpartstotheir normal position. During this expansion and contraction the stud 23 will move forward and back in'the slot 25 of the part ill of the belt. The engagement of the stud 23 in one of the openings 3| of the belt as'shown more particularly in Fig. 7 acts to more definitely retain the belt parts in alignment as is necessary with the Sam Browne belt such as here disclosed.

With the detachable clasp or hook arrangement herein-disclosed it is practically impossible for the bar of the belt to become disengaged from the hooks 2! due to the fact that the middle one of the said hooks so nearly approaches the joining ends of the belt parts [0 and VI I. When it is desired to unhook the belt, that is, remove the buckle bar fromthe. hooks 2 I, the bar I3 is drawn slightly outwardly against the resiliency of spring 14 the thumb or other part of the wearer is then placed against stud 23 to retainthe spring under compression. The buckle bar 19 may n-owbe readily removed from the hooks and the meeting ends of the belt disengaged. Due to the peculiar construction of the clasp or hook 2| it is found that the bar may be replaced Within the hooks 2! without displacing the stud 23 altho the reverse of the" process for disengaging the bar may be employed in returning it to position if desired.

Due to the fact that the stud 23 is readily removable from the slot 22 the parts of the resiliency providing means may readily be removed either for replacement of the spring or repair or cleaning of any of the parts. All that is necessary in order to remove the parts is to force the stud 23 slightly to the left until it enters the enlarged portion of slot 22 whereupon it may be readily removed from the bar 93. The bar I3 may be moved freely to the left and the spring H! and abutment E2 taken out. In reassembling obviously just the reverse of this process would be followed.

-While in the accompanying drawing the invention has been shown as applied to the Sam Browne belt, it is obvious that it may readily be applied to other belts or that many changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention should, therefore, be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

' I claim:

1. In an elastic body belt, a strap folded back on itself at one end thereof to provide two layers of material, a bar having a portion thereof slidably mounted between said layers, a spring abutment within the bight of said layers, a coil spring positioned about said bar, one end of said spring engaging said abutment, a stud at the other end of said bar for retaining said spring thereon, said bar having a slot therein adjacent to the end thereof for receiving an end of said stud, a buckle and means for detachably joining the end of said bar to said buckle.

2. In an elastic body belt, a strap folded back on itself at one end thereof to provide two layers ofmaterial, a bar having a portion thereof slidably mounted between said layers, a spring abutment within the bight of said layers, a coil spring positioned about said bar, one end of said spring engaging said abutment, spring retaining means detachably secured to said bar remote from said abutment for retaining said spring thereon, said spring acting to hold said retaining means in position, a buckle, a cross bar on said buckle and a hook at the end of said first mentioned bar for detachably engaging said cross bar.

3. In an elastic body belt, a strap, an overlying portion at the end thereof providing two layers of material, a bar having a portion thereof slidably mounted between said layers, a spring abutment between said layers at the end thereof, a coil spring about said bar, one end of said spring engaging said abutment, a slot in said bar adjacent the end thereof, a spring retaining means in said slot for retaining said spring thereon, a buckle, means for joining the end of said bar to said buckle, and means for detachably securing said layers together adjacent to the end of said bar and spring.

'4. In an elastic body belt, a strap rebent on itself to provide two layers of material, a bar slidably mounted between said layers, a spring about said bar, a spring abutment about said bar within the bight of said strap, means on the projecting end of said bar forremovably engaging the bar of a buckle, and a stud removably secured to said bar adjacent to the end thereof remote from said buckle engaging means, said stud forming an abutment for one end of said spring,

said spring acting to retain said stud in position.

5. In an elastic body belt, a strap rebent on itself to provide two layers of material, a bar slidably mounted between said layers, a spring about said bar, a spring abutment about said bar within the bight of said strap, means on the projecting end of said bar for removably engaging the bar of a buckle, and a stud removably secured to said bar adjacent to the end thereof remote from said buckle engaging means for retaining said spring on said bar, said spring acting to resist removal of said stud from said bar. I

6. In an elastic body belt, a strap rebent on itself to provide two layers of material, a bar slidably mounted between said layers, a spring about said bar, a spring abutment about said bar within the bight of said strap, means on the projecting end of said bar for removably engaging the bar of a buckle, and a stud secured to said bar adjacent to the end thereof remote from said buckle engaging means, said stud forming an abutment for one end of said spring, one of said layers of said strap being provided with a slot to receive a portion of said stud.

'7. In an elastic body belt, a strap rebent on itself to provide two layers of material, a bar slidably mounted between said layers, a spring about said bar, a spring abutment about said bar within the bight of said strap, said bar being provided with a key hole slot, and a stud having a portion adapted to pass through the large portion of said slot and be firmly seated in the reduced portion of said slot, said stud forming an abutment for one end of said spring.

8. In an elastic body belt, a strap rebent on itself to provide two layers of material, a bar slidably mounted between said layers, a spring about said bar, a spring abutment about said bar within the bight of said strap, said bar being provided with a key hole slot, and a stud having a portion adapted to pass through the large portion of said slot and be firmly seated in the reduced portion of said slot, said stud forming an abutment for one end of said spring, one of said layers of said strap being provided with a slot to receive a portion of said stud.

9. In an elastic body belt, a strap rebent on itself to form a bight at one end thereof and two layers of material, a spring abutment within said bight, a flat bar slidably mounted between said layers and extending through said abutment and bight, said abutment having an elongated slot therein thru which said bar passes, a substantially fiat coil type spring in close engagement about said bar, one end of said spring being in engagement with said abutment, means at the opposite end of said bar for confining the spring thereon, said abutment being rebent on itself and the free end of the spring being in engagement with a side of said abutment remote from said bar, a buckle and means for detachably securing the end of said bar to said buckle.

10. In an elastic body belt, a strap rebent on itself to form a bight atone end thereof and two layers of material, a spring abutment within said bight, a draw-member slidably mounted between said layers and extending through said abutment and bight, said abutment having an elongated slot therein thru which said draw-member passes, a substantially flat coil type spring in close engagement about said draw-member, one end of said spring being in engagement with said abutment, means at the opposite end of said drawmember for confining the spring thereon, said abutment beingrebent on itself and the free end of the spring being in engagement with a side of said abutment remote from said draw-member, a buckle and means for securing the end of said draw-member to said buckle.

JOHN W. STAFFORD. 

